About: Food taxes

‘Traffic light’ food labels gain momentum across Europe

A UK scheme that labels pre-packed food in red, amber or green according to their level of healthiness was rejected by Mediterranean countries at EU level but is slowly gaining momentum across Europe.

A soft target: EU countries go after sugar in CVD fight

If the UK is a leader among European countries in statin treatment and cardiac rehabilitation, it lags behind in addressing the behavioural causes of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as child obesity.

Study: ‘Fat tax’ made Denmark healthier

The short-lived Danish levy on fatty foods was heavily criticised when it was first introduced in October 2011. But research shows that the fat tax achieved its objective in changing Danish grocery shopping habits, and saving lives.

‘Fat taxes’ do work, EU report finds

Specific taxes on sugar, salt or fat do cause reductions in consumption, the European Commission found in a new report. But higher taxes may also merely encourage consumers to go for cheaper products, it warned.